CLOSED – Seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members
This application process is now closed. If you are interested in being considered for an Advisory Group Member role in the future, please email ncfh@wdhs.net.
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Are you passionate about improving farmer health, wellbeing and safety? Do you have a demonstrated track record of commitment to health and/or agriculture, rural health, wellbeing, farming or farm safety matters?
We are seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members from across Australia to contribute their expertise and help us achieve our vision to make a difference to farmers’ lives. For more information please review the Terms of Reference and Position Description below.
If you have any questions please email us at ncfh@wdhs.net.
NCFH’s agile COVID-19 response saves lives and millions
RECENT evaluation findings show that the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) responded to change through the COVID-19 pandemic with significant agility—working productively and collaboratively with partners to deliver services that were highly regarded by the farming community.
This demonstrated ability to adapt to changing circumstances and demands has kept farmers involved with vital health services throughout the global pandemic, and helps shape future plans to build on increased engagement and service delivery offerings, NCFH Director, Dr. Alison Kennedy said.
“I am incredibly proud to lead a dedicated team of farmer health specialists who bring a range of skills and an incredibly important understanding of farming life and work to their roles at the Centre. Their passion and dedication meant that we have been able to adapt, improve and continue to deliver meaningful and tailored support to our farming communities—in spite of Covid challenges.”
Victorian Labor Government’s Delivering for Regional and Rural Victoria Program injected $4 million over four years to NCFH, delivering on its 2018 election commitment and contributing to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Advancement Output.
This funding, which continues until mid-2023, helped put farmers’ health on the agenda.
The recent evaluation also found that for every Government dollar invested, NCFH demonstrated an average return of $17.26 for their Health and Lifestyle Assessments (free 20-minute health check), $13.78 for AgriSafe ClinicsTM (free comprehensive 90-minute health check program), and $67.10 for Farmer HAT (a free online health self-assessment tool).
Cost savings to society as a result of screening, prevention, and early intervention programs like the HLAs and AgriSafe program alone is projected to be $10.9 million over 10 years, and $216,361 over 10 years in Government cost savings.
“Throughout this latest funding period, NCFH raised an additional $1.13 for every core funding dollar invested by the Government and despite increased challenges faced by the farming and healthcare workforce during COVID-19, the NCFH has achieved substantial growth,” Dr. Kennedy said.
“The Centre, based in Hamilton, directly supports 19 staff members and works collaboratively to support the work of numerous contract staff and health service partners across Victoria and nationally. This extends our reach to a wide network of farmers through our Health and Lifestyle Assessments and AgriSafeTM Clinics, our education and training programs such as our secondary student farm safety program Gear up for AgTM, and programs such as Campfire which focus on reducing mental health risks for farmers.”
Adapting its service delivery during COVID-19, NCFH shifted many of its education and research programs from face-to-face to interactive online options, including live social media webinars, podcasts, small group discussion rooms, and facilitated co-design workshops.
This was demonstrated particularly in the development of online Farmer HAT (health assessment tool), Steering Straight (a downloadable resource helping farmers plan to stay on track amid challenging or stressful times), and access to telehealth services from accredited psychologists with specific farmer health training.
NCFH also led a dedicated social media campaign (#SnapshotRuralVic) in 2021 to boost mental health through shared stories and images, encouraging virtual social connection, and are set to launch a new social media campaign soon to support farmers affected by the recent floods.
NCFH plans to continue utilising skills and technologies adopted during COVID-19 to enhance farmer engagement and reach in post-pandemic Australia.
“Our Centre is continuing to develop and grow opportunities for farmer health, wellbeing and safety, through strong and critical partnerships with government, industry, health services, and—most importantly—the farming community. While our farming communities face many current challenges, we are well-placed to tackle these together to make a difference to farmers’ lives and hope to receive a commitment from the Victorian Government to ensure our ongoing funding in the very near future.” Dr. Alison Kennedy explains.
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Available for quotes:
Dr. Alison Kennedy, Director of the National Centre for Farmer Health
alison.kennedy@wdhs.net
(03) 5551 8533
Media Contact
Annabelle Macgugan
amacgugan@wdhs.net
0458517699
For more information about the National Centre for Farmer Health visit https://farmerhealth.org.au.
From co-design to co-production: Approaches, enablers, and constraints in developing a public health, capacity-building solution
Abstract
Introduction
Investigating how co-designed knowledge can be translated to co-produce a public health capacity-building solution for difficult-to-engage population groups drawing on the co-production experience of a prevention-focused, capacity-building mental health solution targeting primary producers.
Design
A qualitative study was undertaken in rural and regional Victoria involving members of the design working group including the project team (7px), the digital design team (5px), the marketing team (3px), and funding partner representatives. The study design involved reflective practice to collect data to identify the phases of co-production and assess the design working group members’ experiences. The analysis involved inductive coding using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.
Objective
Identifying major points of divergence and/or convergence; enablers and/or constraints, and ways to better navigate and strengthen the co-production process.
Finding
Given members of the design working group, diverse skills sets divergence was experienced in all co-production phases. Divergence was also experienced between the project team and the funding partner given the uniqueness of working conditions and requirements of workers in the primary production industry. The project team applied an iterative development process to project management; encouraging iterative cycles to create/test/revise among the teams, and with the funding partner, until each was satisfied with the end result (convergence).
Discussion & Conclusion
When developing a co-created public health prevention campaign it is critical that the project team focuses on relationship building among the members of the design working group and ensures adequate resourcing, development of shared understanding of project goals and target audience, ongoing communication, and a commitment to working iteratively.
The Primary Producer: CHECKING IN WITH FARMERS
Episode 16: “Working dogs and farmer wellbeing”
Building connections with other farmers and the community is as much of a preventative tool as it is a supportive one. Catch up with Kelly Barnes in this Campfire podcast episode as she discusses the key learnings from the ‘Mates dog school’, and how your working dog can support your mental and physical wellbeing.
Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.
This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.
Farmer Health eNews October 2022
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Expand your knowledge with a scholarship to complete the Agricultural Health and Medicine (HMF701)!
- The Farming a Brighter Future symposium was a success!
- Help inform research about chemical usage on Victorian farms
- Wellness Wednesday
Do you want to receive our eNews?
Participant perspectives of an online co-design process to develop a mental health and wellbeing platform for primary producers
Abstract
Objective: To explore participant experiences of an online co-design process to develop a web-based preventative mental health and well-being intervention targeting primary producers in rural Australia
Setting: Rural Victoria, Australia
Participants: Participants from a primary producer background, including horticulture, fisheries, animal cultivation and farm consultancy, were eligible for the study if they had participated in both the co-design and beta testing processes for a primary producer platform.
Design: A qualitative study using semi-structured phone-based interviews was undertaken. A reflexive inductive approach to data analysis was employed to develop themes.
Results: Eleven participants were interviewed, with an average age of 51 years, of which 7 were female. Five main themes were developed. These included: (1) participant diversity, (2) impact of online delivery on co-design participation, (3) experiences of the co-design process, (4) maintaining a shared vision and goals and (5) acting on the co-design recommendations. Use of online methods was a clear enabler to engage participants who were geographically dispersed and offers an alternative to more conventional approaches to co-design using face-to-face methods. Some aspects of participant engagement may need a greater focus when conducted online compared with face-to-face.
Conclusion: Using an online co-design method to develop a preventative mental health and well-being web-based platform for primary producers was novel. Findings address a gap in the literature around the experience of participants engaging in a co-design process and identify opportunities to improve participant engagement and experience with the online format.
Episode 15: “Proactive responses to climate uncertainty”
For some farmers, climate change predictions are leading to more than just concern – it is actually creating a new wave of stress and uncertainty, some of which may become mental health challenges. Farmers are changing their mindset on climate issues, but preconceptions, misconceptions and political opportunism sometimes leave the Aussie farmer as “the meat in the sandwich” when it comes to the climate debate.
Focusing on the solutions rather than the problem can help you to keep a positive mindset as you work towards a better climate future for yourself, your industry and the planet. Farmers for Climate Action can help make positive contributions to discussions on this topic – and in this episode Charlie Prell shares his experiences with climate action and how controlling the things you can control is key to alleviating anxiety.
Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.
This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.
Sarah Crosthwaite has been named as Victoria’s 2023 Nuffield Scholar
Sarah Crosthwaite, dairy farmer and mental health counsellor and member of the National Centre for Farmer Health Advisory Group, is Victoria’s 2023 Nuffield Scholar. Sarah will use this to study how different agricultural sectors across the world support their producers’ mental health, especially in a changing climate. Bringing these learnings back to Australia, she aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of our farming communities.
Sarah was interviewed by Peter Somerville for Victorian Country Hour on ABC Radio. Listen to the whole interview through the link below.
The Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust is a charity organisation whose aim is to bring positive change to agriculture through the development of its future leaders, sending them overseas to learn from others and helping them share their brilliant ideas when they return home.
Kate Gunn wins Excellence in Agricultural Research gong at Farmer of the Year Awards
From play to practice
When Kate Gunn created ifarmwell, she did not expect it would inspire a play, and a movement.
Last year the University of South Australia senior researcher collaborated with Alawoona grain farmer John Gladigau to develop his stage production about rural resilience called Kick Off Ya Boots.
“I think doing research in a university and publishing papers is one thing, but what really excites me is finding ways to get those lessons out into the real world,” Dr Gunn said.
After the play sold out its first season, Dr Gunn’s expertise was again called on to create Vocal Locals, a project supported through funding from the federal government’s Future Drought Fund.
“I think what this project has demonstrated is the importance of having trusted people in local communities spreading those messages,” Dr Gunn said.
Mr Gladigau, who coordinated Vocal Locals, said it had been great to continue the conversations sparked by his play.
“Whilst these are not taboo subjects, we don’t talk a lot about mental health and wellbeing,” he said.
“However, people are willing to [share] if they have the opportunity to.”
Mr Gladigau said he and Dr Gunn had been impressed with how open the participants had been in about their struggles.
“Even some of the really tough times … people have related to that and have jumped on and talked about their own experiences and encouraged each other.
“I think it’s about normalising those conversations.”
Keeping it rural
Growing up on a farm in streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, Dr Gunn said it had been important to “farmerise” mental health programs to make them accessible to people in rural communities.
“Basically, just taking out any psychobabble or academic jargon and turning it into language that everyday farmers would use,” she said.
“One example is in ifarmwell, where we talk about sorting out your thoughts into different categories … we talk about drafting your thoughts into different pens in the same way that you might draft some sheep.
After nearly 15 years working in her field, Dr Gunn said being recognised for her work was a pleasant surprise.
She was the recipient of the 2022 Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research, as part of the Farmer of the Year Awards, and also received the National LiFE Award for Innovation from Suicide Prevention Australia.
“What’s really rewarding about what we do is the opportunity to get out in the community to work with farmers and help them find ways to improve their wellbeing,” Dr Gunn said.
“So there are a lot of farmers who’ve helped us win these awards as well.”
This article was written by Eliza Berlage and published by ABC Rural. Read the full article on their website here: Kate Gunn wins Excellence in Agricultural Research gong at Farmer of the Year Awards – ABC News
Climate action: requires a positive mindset
Factors in your workplace can impact on your mental health – such as poor environmental conditions, issues with change management, low job control, and high work demands. These are called work-related factors, which when not addressed can increase the risks of workplace stress or lead to poor workplace mental health. However, there are some simple ways to reduce these risks on your farm.
Steve runs a cropping and livestock family farming business in Western Victoria. He prides himself on being up to date in his farming methods and at the cutting edge of his industry. He reads a lot about farming, loves the science involved in farming and is a confident, evidence-based decision maker. He wants to be “future-ready”, so adapting to change is a constant and important part of his role in leading the farm business.
Steve readily accepts that global climate change is real and that agriculture is a major contributor. He is very concerned about the future of farming and the often divisive language of public debate on climate change and agriculture. He talks with his family and his farming mates about it often. They agree that climate-change predictions can negatively impact farmers’ mental health as they look to the future. “What starts as a rational, manageable concern can turn into serious anxiety issues for some on the land”, he observes.
However, Steve, has a more pragmatic approach. “Farmers need to find ways to promote optimism and hope while we collaborate with research scientists, government and other industries to find workable solutions and to take action on climate change. It’s okay to complain – but you also have to do something about it! Work on the factors that are within your control – both in relation to climate change, and your overall levels of workplace stress. Be the change you want to see.”
Focussing on the solutions rather than the problem clearly helps Steve to keep a positive mindset as he works towards a better climate future for himself, his industry and the planet.
One of his mates encouraged him to join Farmers for Climate Action so he could network with like-minded farmers grappling with the same questions. Turns out there are more than 9000 genuine Aussie farmers in the group, including quite a few in his region. They have had some good chats and he enjoys reading their informative and positive material. He feels less isolated now that he is part of this network of like minded farmers.
In conversation with some of these farmers he hears comments that he really resonates with:
Julie says: “why do people make farmers the scapegoats for climate change … they want to cut off the hand that feeds them. We have to survive drought, fire, floods and price wars – all of which are factors beyond our control. So imagine what it does to a farming community’s sense of self-worth when blamed by others for high emissions. And we seem to get no credit in the public eye for the work we’re already doing like landcare and revegetation projects and efficiency improvements”, she adds.
Alice and Tony own a zero-till cropping farm in the southern Wimmera. They are concerned that individual businesses haven’t been given targets to sequester soil carbon. Their soil carbon is about 2% on average after 20 years of no cultivation and minimal burning. They are concerned this carbon in their bank won’t be counted whereas new adopters of zero-till system will be advantaged in the carbon storage race.
Another couple talk about the anxiety caused by financial stress: “solutions at the moment are too expensive and require investment. Getting subsidies to upgrade equipment that will reduce our farm emissions is too difficult. However, the cost of not doing anything is far greater in the long run. We want to change but simply can’t do it all at once!”
Finally, Davo sums it up: “Farmers are no longer the lobby group that is denying climate change. We are among those looking for climate action. We are starting with adapting our own farm businesses. You should see how ambitious the industry targets are for emission reductions in our sector! We need to get a move on – the clock is ticking.”
Steve reckons that whilst farmers are indeed changing their mindset on climate issues, the preconceptions, misconceptions and political opportunism sometimes leave the Aussie farmer as “the meat in the sandwich”.
“For some farmers, climate change predictions are leading to more than just concern, it is actually creating a new wave of stress and uncertainty, some of which may become mental health challenges. In the short term, farmers feel like they are footing the bill on behalf of every Australian – we cop the cost of adapting our enterprises and then we cop having the finger pointed at us by people who have no idea how and what we do,” he says.
Julie can see the same thing happening, but points out that respectful, calm, considered public debate about how farmers should respond to climate change does not need to cause widespread trauma and distress amongst farmers. Farmers listen to other farmers. That is why she wants to be a part of Farmers for Climate Action it helps her make positive contributions to discussions on this topic within her own farming networks.
Steve is big on doing the things that are within your control, and not stressing too much about the rest. So he and his family have done an emissions audit to look for ways to reduce emissions from their energy, transport, cropping and livestock on the farm. He wants to make their carbon footprint smaller.
At the same time they have assessed a raft of alternative-energy options. However the upfront cost seems rather prohibitive, and government has reduced feed-in tariffs making the concept unviable at present. He is also interested in seeing what options a proposed wind farm might present to his local community.
Adopting more sustainable soil health and livestock management systems and investing in more efficient water usage are also things Steve is quietly chipping away at. He can’t wait for livestock feed additives to become commercially available so he can reduce the methane emissions from his cattle herd. He has already improved his soil health significantly, and the tree corridors he has been planting for years are going really well – sequestering tonnes and tonnes of carbon into the soil. “You can’t do everything at once though, it’s one step at a time”, Steve admits. “But taking positive action on my own place helps make me feel like I am part of the solution, not just part of the problem!”
Steve’s neighbour Mick is excited about trialling canola seed inoculated with specific soil fungi which sequester carbon on a large scale in his cropping system. “If we can partner that with a reliable carbon market in Australia, then we are really going to see some solutions to climate change and some economic viability come out of the farming sector.” Mick says.
“Innovation and new opportunities can come out of the climate crisis, but we farmers need courage and a ‘can-do’ attitude to find and implement those solutions.”
Injuries on the farm can lead to stress, long-term health concerns and loss of income or even fatalities, so preventing them from happening is the best way of protecting your mental health. When it comes to running the family farm, investing in mental health initiatives is not only good for your family and workers, but it’s good for business too.
The NCFH is supporting farmers just like you to manage and respond to work-related risks that impact on workplace mental health – these are factors in your work that can affect an employee’s mental health and include poor environmental conditions, low job control, low role clarity and more.
Managing these factors, means decreasing the risk of work-related stress.
Find out more about being mentally safe on farm at www.farmerhealth.org.au/campfire.
This blog is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of The Primary Producer Knowledge Network, is funded by the Victorian State Governments WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.
Farmer Health eNews September 2022
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Get your tickets for the Farming a Brighter Future Symposium
- What is the mental impact of serious injuries on the farm?
- Scholarships for Agricultural Health and Medicine (HMF701) are now open!
- Wellness Wednesday